30,000 British minors take drugs

An estimated 30,000 British children aged 11 -- or one in 20 from across the country -- have taken drugs and other substances in the past year, a media report said.

Five percent of 11-year-olds said they had taken drugs in the past year, which would be the equivalent of 29,950 children if applied across the whole population, the Daily Mail reported.

The drugs include cannabis and "volatile" substances such as glue and aerosols, and also cocaine, ecstasy and magic mushrooms, said a study by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

"The average age for someone trying cannabis for the first time is just 13. That is a very important time because the brain is still developing and drug use can cause lasting damage," said Mary Brett of the campaign group Cannabis Skunk Sense.